


Twin Shadows

by Knusperkeks



Category: Far Cry 3
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, slow build-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-01 03:28:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5190458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knusperkeks/pseuds/Knusperkeks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vaas and Jason were two sides of the same coin, focussing all of their feelings into hating the other.<br/>But what if they were forced to work together to survive? What if these feelings began to separate into different emotions?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if anyone is still interested in this ship, but I still love it, so... here we go.  
> I had that plot in my head for two years or more, never got around to writing it though. But now that I started writing fanfiction a few months ago I finally had to get it out of my system before it would start to haunt me in my sleep (which it already does).

 

 

From up here, the island was beautiful. Everything seemed so peaceful.

Jason was sitting at the edge of the cliff at Dr. Earnhardt’s house, watching clouds drift away in the orange sky, birds flying by, and the waves breaking at the shore below. He let the wind drift over his face and enjoyed how it ruffled his hair. With his right hand he tucked a strand of hair out of his face and ran his fingers through his silky hair. Jason had spent the last hour under Dr. Earnhardt’s shower - freeing his skin from all the dirt and blood, which had been easier because of the soap. The doctor had even washed his clothes.

So now here he was, enjoying the feeling of clean skin, silky hair that reflected the last few beams of sunlight, clothes that smelled fresh, as well as the breathtaking sight of the sunset above the ocean. He closed his eyes, trying to memorize this moment; burn it into his brain – hoping it would wipe out the horrible things he had seen in the past weeks. Even if that hope was totally in vain, it was a nice excuse to linger there a moment longer. Jason tried to savor everything, knowing it could be his last chance. He knew what came next. What he had to do. His moment had come.

Painfully aware that he would have to get up soon, he slowly opened his eyes again, tearing his thoughts away from the beauty of the island, knowing that it was only an illusion. Should he succeed in his next mission, this illusion was one step closer to becoming reality.

He had to kill Vaas.

His inner monologue was cut short when the voices coming out of the cave behind him got louder. Jason heard his friends argue, Liza starting to scream at the others. He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes and letting out an annoyed sigh. It was a miracle that the pirates buying from Earnhardt haven’t found them yet. Jason had cleaned out all of the surrounding outposts, the Rakyat now claiming them as their own, but that didn’t mean the pirates stopped sending patrols trying to get them back, or recapture his friends. All the work he had put into rescuing them would have been in vain if they got themselves caught again. Wouldn’t that be awesome? He just might throw himself off a cliff in joy.

The argument picked up in volume, some parts of it already discernable. Of course they were arguing about Jason’s plan to take down Vaas. Part of him regretted telling them, knowing it would come to this; the other part knew he had to come forward with what he had planned to insure that they tried to escape with the boat, in case Jason didn’t make it back. He knew that his plan wasn’t his best, but Jason was never the type to plan ahead, or to carve every detail to perfection. He always rushed in head first – and it worked. But this wasn’t one of those times, even he knew that. Playing invincible would get them all killed.

After days of watching the arrivals and departures of Vaas and his pirates on Vaas’ island he noticed a pattern. Vaas often visited a specific outpost, multiple times a week. Jason could only guess that it probably was where they stashed most of their drugs, if the huge amount of guards was anything to go by. Attacking Vaas there was no option. He could blow the camp up, Vaas included, but that would take more explosives than the Rakyat could gather. The only window he had was when Vaas left the camp in a small convoy of three cars. If he took his bow, he could take out the two cars, before Vaas driving the first noticed anything was amiss. A rational human being would have argued that it was wiser to shoot Vaas first but that wasn’t what Jason wanted. He wanted to sink a knife deep into his heart and watch the life slowly drain out of the man who killed his brothers. So yes, he was gonna take out the pirates first before taking on their leader.

Jason had everything he needed – enough ammo and syringes to last a while, but not too much to slow him down. He had to be fast and agile to pull this off. That meant discarding most of his weapons, only his trusted bow and pistol would accompany him.

“No! I won’t let him go! This is a suicide mission!” Liza screamed from inside the cave.

Looking, for one last time, at the scenery in front of him, Jason got up. He couldn’t ignore it any longer. He had to move soon. The camp was on the other side of the island and he had to get into position.  
After wiping away the dirt that had become stuck to his pants, he slowly made his way over to the cave entrance.

“Liza please, calm down…” Daisy tried to reason.

“I can’t just sit here and accept that Jason will run off to hunt down that pirate! We have to do something!”

“You of all people should know that once Jason has made up his mind, there is no stopping him.” Oliver answered her in a calm voice. He was actually right. No one had ever succeeded in talking Jason out of something he really wanted.

“Oh shut up Oliver! Stop taking those damn pills from Earnhardt so we can have an actual conversation.” Liza was lashing out. She always did that when she got desperate. More often than not she was sorry about what she said afterwards, but Jason guessed this wasn’t one of those times.

“Liza, it’s not up to us to decide what he will do. If it weren’t for him, we’d all be dead by now! Or worse.” Keith intervened. Jason could hear that he was still shaken by the things that had happened to him, and no one could blame him. Keith had to endure the most. “You don’t know what it’s like to be sold to some lunatic! I want them dead! All of them! Jason will-” Keith cut off when Jason entered the cave.

All eyes wandered to Jason. Liza started to run towards him, fisting her hands in his shirt. “You can’t go! What if something happens to you? We will never make it off the island without you! We need you Jason! _I_ need you.”

Jason slowly took her hands in his, unwinding her fingers from his shirt, and slightly push her back.

“I’m sorry Liza. But this is something I have to do. That son of a bitch won’t get away with killing Grant and Riley. If I don’t stop him, no one will. Dennis and the Rakyat aren’t strong enough. They have been struggling for years. I have a chance to end this. To end the slavery and give this island back to the people. I have to go.”  
Tears started to form in Liza’s eyes. She took several steps back from Jason before throwing herself in Daisy’s waiting arms and started to weep. Oliver and Keith made their way to his side.

Olli placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder, gripping lightly. “We all know that. We can’t stop you. We just hope you return safely. Just know that whatever happens, you’re a hero.”

He embraced Jason is crushing hug. Keith bumped his fist against Jason’s upper arm, flashing him the most reassuring smile he could. It would take some time for Keith to enjoy human contact again, but Jason was sure once he was safely at home, he would recover. Nothing would be the same for him, but Keith would fight through it.

Jason hugged the girls goodbye, Liza’s tears forming a wet spot on his shirt. He gathered his things and started heading out of the cave to the car he had parked at the end of the road up the hill. Clenching his teeth, he walked on, trying to focus on anything but the sound of Liza’s crying fading away behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

Jason ditched his car a good distance away from the camp, trying to hide it from sight by covering it with leaves. He crept up the hill to the spot he had always used as a base for his stake-outs to monitor the movements of the pirates and their cars. Half an hour went by but Vaas was nowhere in sight. Pirates moved around leisurely, smoking, playing cards or picking fights with each other. If he had to listen to another conversation about what kind of sexual diseases they got from the local whores, he would go ballistic. Fortunately he could focus his bloodlust on one person; Vaas just stepped into Jason’s line of sight. The pirate leader moved towards a small group of his henchmen and started yelling at them, accompanied by his arms flailing around in the air. He was clearly upset. Jason hoped this would be to his advantage, although he couldn’t shake the feeling of agitation that started to spread through his body. He tried to fight it down, get it under control. There was no backing off now.

Adrenaline shot through Jason’s body like lightning when Vaas and six of his men started to walk towards the cars parked near the entrance. This was it. The moment he had been waiting for since he woke up in the cabin – after watching his brother die right in his arms.

Having the terrain mapped out in his head, Jason moved to the spot where could wait for the cars to round the slight curve in the road, followed around the small hill. From there he had a clear shot. He watched the cars approach – Vaas in the first car with a guy beside him, three in the second car, two in the third. Reaching around to his back, Jason brushed the feathers of his first arrow lightly, before pulling it out of the quiver and taking aim.

His first target was the last car. The fact that the car didn’t have a windshield was a definite plus. Jason aimed at the guy on the passenger side first. The muscles in his arms were tense, holding the bow steady.

 

Aim.

 

 _Fire_.

 

The pirate was dead instantly, the arrow piercing his left eye. Jason didn’t waste a single second, aiming at the driver before he could notice that the next to him was dead. At the exact moment the driver noticed the arrow protruding from his comrade’s skull he was hit by an arrow, which had found its way right into his heart. He clutched at the arrow, blood spilling from his mouth, as he lost control of the car. It sped up before crashing against a palm tree, alerting the pirates in the other cars. The three guys in the second car noticed the crash, the one in the back getting up, gun at the ready. Jason had less than two seconds to react, switching his aim for the front tire instead of the driver. The arrow hit its mark. The tire burst, causing the car to flip and land on its roof after hitting several trees. The three pirates were dead.

Vaas brought his car to an abrupt halt while yanking the steering wheel to the side so he could see the commotion behind him. While the pirate leader stared on in astonishment Jason was sprinting down the hill to get closer. But Vaas wasn’t new in this business, his eyes spotting Jason easily. Their gazes met while Jason jumped down the final stretch and landed on his feet. They glared at each other for what felt like hours, but, in reality, were mere seconds. Jason yanked the pistol from his holster, aiming straight at Vaas face, and fired. Cursing under his breath Vaas hit the gas, causing the car to jump forward. Jason’s bullet hit the pirate to Vaas’ right in the head, causing him to topple over and fall out of the car.

“FUCK!” Jason raged, kicking the dead pirate closest to him in the head. No! He mustn’t get away!

His gaze landed on the third car of the convoy. It was still running; the driver pierced with the arrow seemingly fell out when it crashed against the palm tree. Jason made a run for it, getting in and setting it in motion. Vaas had a head start, but Jason had reacted fast enough to reduce it to a minimum.

During his previous visits to the camp Jason had memorized every road in and out, so he knew there was only one road Vaas could take for the first couple of miles. He hit the gas. With every moment that passed, Jason became more desperate. He couldn’t lose Vaas now, it was his only chance. After what happened, the pirate would be on extremely high alert, probably not leaving his island for weeks. Starting to panic, he could feel the rapid beating of his heart and the blood rushing through his body. His eyes skimmed the road ahead for any sign of Vaas’ car.

There! He could make out the red tail lights of the car. He tried pushing harder on the gas, but unfortunately this was the fastest the car could possible go. Taking out the gun secured in his leg holster, Jason waited until the road took a straight course and the started firing at the wheels. After his first two shots missed he started leaning out of the car slightly – as much as he could without losing the ability to aim or pulling the car to the side.

A well placed shot to the left tire on the back of the pirate leader’s car caused it to burst. Jason cheered in his head as he watched Vaas struggle to maintain control over his vehicle. It veered to the right and into the jungle, Jason following with his own car. There were only a few trees in the area, so Vaas made it at least a mile with the remaining momentum before crashing. Jason had fallen behind during the rush through the jungle. He stopped his car a few feet away from Vaas’, taking out his gun before getting out.

He slowly made his way over to the car, not making a single sound by stepping on the freshly fallen leaves on the ground, not the dried out ones. Jason pressed his back to the cold metal at the back of the car, raising his pistol to eye-level as he approached, before sliding forward to the driver side. Once he reached the door, he took two deep breaths then whipped his body around to face the interior, gun pointed at….. thin air?

What? Where did Vaas go? He had only been a few seconds ahead. Jason lowered his gun, looking around the car. There was blood on the front window, probably from the guy on the passenger seat, but also on the steering wheel. It looked like Vaas head crushed against it when the car hit the trees. So Vaas was wounded. Good. That means he can’t have gone far.

After a quick search of the car for anything useful, Jason turned around before searching the ground for clues in which direction Vaas had went. It seemed the pirate had broken some leaves from banana plants during his hasty escape, making him easy to track.  
Jason slowly took the path made of broken branches and detached leaves, going as silent as he possibly could. He strained his ears, but there were no sounds of wind or animals, only the pounding of his blood in his veins. His heart was threatening to burst of his chest with the anxiety.

Jason rounded a group of three trees in close proximity. The cracking of a branch was the only sound he heard before the back of a gun smashed into his head.

“Peek-a-boo, motherfucker!”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

Jason hit the ground, a searing pain shooting through his head. Only allowing himself a few seconds to recover, he pushed his body to the side, avoiding Vaas’ boot aimed at his head by mere inches. Rolling farther away, he used the gathered momentum to get back up on his knees, dodging Vaas’ swinging leg. Trying to get the upper hand again, Jason used the vital seconds Vaas needed to find his footing again to punch him in his other leg, forcing Vaas to his knees. Before he could pull his arm back, though, Vaas had already grabbed it. He pulled it to the side before landing a punch right into Jason’s chest, causing the air to leave his lungs. Exploiting Jason’s moment of weakness, Vaas aimed his next punch straight at his face, sending Jason flying once it collided. Jason landed on his back a few steps away, hand shooting up to his head to soothe the agonizing pain. Vaas didn’t seem affected by the crash at all, already stalking towards Jason with bloodlust burning in his eyes.

He came to a stop next to Jason, looking like a crazed animal with fevered eyes and snarl on his lips. Leaning down, he pressed his knee into Jason’s stomach, pressing him harder into the ground. The air left Jason’s lungs again because of the force, and he was pinned to the ground Vaas’ glare as he leaned towards him.

“Don’t you think you pulled enough shit for one day, snow white? After what you just did to my fucking convoy?! _I’m gonna rip your fucking guts out!_ ”

Vaas goes in for the kill, bringing both of his hands up to choke Jason. White spots began to appear in Jason’s vision, his lungs struggling to regain the lost air. Vaas increased his grip, threatening to crush his windpipe. But the rage Vaas felt was blinding him, causing him to lessen the force of his leg on Jason’s torso, allowing him the opportunity to gain the upper hand. Gathering the strength he had left, Jason punched Vaas in the jaw before digging his heel into the ground and spinning them around. Jason was on top again, straddling Vaas. With the pirate stunned by his sudden action, Jason managed to get a few punches in, mostly targeting his face and vital organs. Making the same fatal mistake yet again, Vaas managed to intercept the next punch, crushing Jason’s hand with his own, with enough brutality to crack the knuckles and then twisting it at a threatening angle. Jason cried out in pain, his other hand shooting up to support its counterpart. Pain was spreading up his entire arm, making it impossible to keep Vaas from sitting up and head-butting him in the bridge of his nose for maximum damage and pain. The attack almost caused Jason to black out, the impact forcing him off Vaas. With his wrist finally free again, he stumbled back a few feet before falling back down on his ass, the pain radiating in his head combined with his arm making for a devastating cocktail. Threatening to fall off the edge into unconsciousness, his vison blurred, rendering Jason powerless to prevent Vaas from approaching, let alone escape what was coming.

The pirate king bent down and grabbed Jason by his T-Shirt, his own exhaustion showing in the way he stumbled and the shaking of his hand. He needed a second attempt for him to hoist Jason upwards, smashing him against a tree with all the strength he had left. Vaas moved his free hands to one of his pants pockets, retrieving a small knife and raising it to eye-level. The instinct to survive, that had kept Jason alive for so long, despite his daily recklessness against the laws of nature, pirates and slavers, set in. The last bit of adrenaline he had left shot through him, flooding his neural system and allowing him one last chance to stand up to the man that had ruined his life.

Jason rammed his knee into Vaas’ belly, instantly followed by twisting away his arm and dancing out of his grasp.

“Oh no, you won’t get away from me, white boy!” Vaas snarl reached Jason’s ear mere milliseconds before he felt a hand tear at the fabric on his back, causing Jason to stumble. Vaas’ crashed into his back, causing both of them forward and straight through a bush with thick leaves and thin branches that was in no way capable of halting their fall. The branches hit Jason in the face before sliding off and whipping against Vaas’ face as well. Stumbling out of the plant, Jason’s stomach made a flip when he saw what lay beyond. Digging both heels into the ground, trying to anchor himself, was not enough to prevent the inevitable. Vaas’ whole weight crashed into him, sending both of them over the edge of a cliff.

They crashed against the rough stone wall, Vaas loosening the grip on Jason’s shirt with each impact when they began to plunge down the cliff face. With his instinct telling him to cover his head, Jason brought up his arms around his most valuable body part, missing the huge rock he was approaching.

Agonizing pain was the last thing he felt before blacking out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Blood. Why did it always smell like blood? What has his life become that he was getting used to a smell like this on a daily basis? Where it was ordinary to walk around with the blood stains of your enemies on your shirt, using weapons ripped from their dead hands. Sneaking up on unsuspecting men before slashing their throats. Watching them getting torn apart by animals lured in by the carefully placed bait.

Those where the images flashing through his mind when he started to come back to his senses. Not the easy life in California, with the surfing trips and smiling friends.

Jason slowly lifted his head, feeling dirt stuck to his face. Wincing when a bolt of searing pain shot through his head, he brought his hand up and gingerly massaging his scalp. Slipping it to the back of his head, it wasn’t bewildering when it came back bloody. Pushing himself up from the spot where he had landed on his stomach, Jason knelt back before hissing when the burst of blinding agony clearly portrayed that his brain was not okay with the change of altitude. It took a minute before the protesting stopped and his eyes opened to take in the scenery.

A quick sweep of his surroundings provided him with little information, since he was overshadowed by plants and the huge rock he had crashed against. He had to get up and find out where he was. He had to… _Shit_. Vaas. They had crashed down together. Reflexes kicking in, Jason was on his hands and feet instantly, crouching low on the ground like a tiger stalking its prey before going in for the kill. His eyes swept across the plants in the vicinity, none of them showing any sign of someone crashing through them. This meant that they had been separated during their descent and landed in different spots.

Jason slowly made his way through the greenery, spotting light that shone through the leaves. Inching towards it, the vegetation became scarce rather quickly, before opening to white sand. Leaving the security of the plants, Jason stood on a small strip of sand, taking in the scenery laid out in front of him.

The sand formed a small ribbon, almost resembling a beach, before opening to a wide expanse of crystal clear water. It was surrounded by steep walls of stone, over 300 feet tall. It reminded him of his dreadful last mission for Buck.

_Fantastic_. They fell into a cenote.

Jason couldn’t even let out the groan rising in his throat before something crashed into him. He fell into the soft sand before a heavy weight pinned him down and hands forced their way around his neck.

“Let go---” Jason grabbed the wrists of Vaas’ hands, trying to pry them away, but to no avail.

“Oh, I will. As soon as the last bit of air has left you, hermano. Or maybe I should let you bleed out, carve you up and let your blood paint this fucking sand red.”

His breathing was going from shallow to erratic, with the way Vaas was straddling him and his hands clamped together on his throat. Jason blinked when a warm drop hit his cheek, running down slowly over his cheekbone, before it was met with a second and a third. Following the line of Vaas’ hands and arms, Jason noticed the huge gash on his bicep, blood slowly oozing out of it. More came dripping down each time Vaas increased his effort into choking him. With a wound this big, there was no way Vaas would survive.

“You won’t survive without me.” Jason chocked out with the little air still left in his lungs.

“Oh yeah? White boy thinks I need him? You think you’re calling the shots now, huh?” Vaas was menacing, pupils wide and practically foaming at the mouth.

“With… a wound this… big… You won’t last long enough… to… get out…”, the lack of air and the crushing of his vocal chords made forcing out the words painful.

“Real fucking cute that you’re so worried about me, hermano, but I’ve got enough men on this fucking island for that.”

“What about the Rakyat?” Jason quipped up with the last bit of air left in him. It was enough to startle Vaas, his hands loosening their grip. Air rushed back into his lungs and Jason gulped it down, taking breaths as deep as the feeling of Vaas’ still lingering hands around his throat would allow. “What if they’re the ones arriving first? Not even you can be so high as to think they would let you live after all you’ve done.”

Vaas was glaring at him through slitted eyes for a few moments, before releasing Jason completely and moving away, sitting down in the sand. Sitting up, Jason coughed and started massaging his sore throat. Vaas definitely filled his choking quota for today. Their gazes met, the pirate looking at Jason expectantly, his face portraying a single question, ‘so now what?’

“We need each other.” Jason clarified. The pirate’s eyebrows shooting up in disbelieve or mockery, Jason couldn’t figure out which one. “Your men will be searching for you; the Rakyat will come for me. We don’t know who will be here first. So if you wanna test your luck, go ahead and kill me. If you wanna get out of here, your best chance is with me.”

“Together or not at all, huh? You’re messed up if you think that could actually work, hermano. As if you would actually help me get out of here. That’s fucked up, even for your standards.”

“Guess there’s only one way to find out.” Jason met Vaas’ gaze defiantly, the side of his mouth curling upwards into a smirk.

Vaas let out a sharp laugh before his gaze started to drift over the water, Jason’s eyes mirroring the movement.

“It’s fate, Jason, there’s no escaping it. We are bound, you and I. Guess we are destined to be here together. I wonder what else fate has in store for us, hermano.”

 

 

 


End file.
